NOVEMBER 27, 2001

Herta talks of Formula 1

BRYAN HERTA, out of work in CART at the moment, has decided to try and get his name into the frame in Formula 1, aiming for a test drive in 2002. The move makes a lot of sense as Formula 1 is looking for an American driver to increase interest in the sport in the United States.

At 31 Herta is however rather old to be embarking on an F1 career and without racing experience in Europe is unlikely to ever break into Grand Prix racing but it is nonetheless interesting to see a CART winner looking to F1 for a future. Herta has always been very good on road circuits and has won two CART races - both of them at Laguna Seca - in 1998 and 1999 with Team Rahal.

But while Herta says there is no reason why he should not become a test driver in F1, there are not many teams who would be interested in such a deal, although an operation like Arrows might take him on to keep sponsor Red Bull happy. Whether a test drive with a mid-grid F1 team would do Herta's career any good is another matter.